Friday, April 13, 2012

As a continuation of the previous post,
I wanted to include a brief summary and explanation of a Senate bill as well.

SB6
By Senator Allen
February 7, 2012

Synopsis: “This
bill would establish the Abortion-Inducing Drug Safety Act. This bill would
provide legislative findings and purposes. This bill would make it unlawful to
administer any abortion-inducing drug to a woman without her receiving an exam
by a physician. This bill would provide a physician with guidelines to follow
in administering an abortion-inducing drug. This bill provides for criminal and
civil penalties. Amendment 621 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now
appearing as Section 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution
of Alabama of 1901, as amended, prohibits a general law whose purpose or effect
would be to require a new or increased expenditure of local funds from becoming
effective with regard to a local governmental entity without enactment by a 2/3
vote unless: it comes within one of a number of specified exceptions; it is
approved by the affected entity; or the Legislature appropriates funds, or
provides a local source of revenue, to the entity for the purpose. The purpose
or effect of this bill would be to require a new or increased expenditure of
local funds within the meaning of the amendment. However, the bill does not
require approval of a local governmental entity or enactment by a 2/3 vote to
become effective because it comes within one of the specified exceptions
contained in the amendment.”

As
a drug safety act, this bill is intended to protect women and make it unlawful
“to administer any abortion-inducing drug to a woman without her receiving an
exam by a physician.”

Many women do not realize the potential
physical health consequences that may result from specific drugs or the off-brand
of certain drugs. It is crucial to understand the risks in order to protect the
safety and lives of women. This bill is able to emphasize those risks. The
ramifications of this bill could reduce the amount of abortions that occur
outside of a licensed, medical facility.

“This
act may be known and cited as the Abortion-Inducing Drug Safety Act.” (section
1).

The bill continues to explain the
treatment and FDA approved drug label for this particular drug in order to put
stipulations on the administration of the drug. It limits the dosage to being
administered only in a clinic, medical office, or hospital under the
supervision of a physician.

A couple aspects of the bill that
should not be overlooked:

“Court testimony by Planned Parenthood
and other physicians demonstrates that physicians routinely fail to follow the
mifepristone protocol as tested and approved by the FDA.” (section 2:4).

And….

“The use of mifepristone presents
significant medical risks to women.

Abortion-inducing drugs are associated
with an increased risk of complications relative to surgical abortion. The risk
of complications increases with increasing gestational age, and, in the
instance of mifepristone, with failure to complete the two-step dosage process.

Off-label
use of mifepristone can be deadly.”
(section 2:5-7).

This bill is not limited to
mifepristone, and is meant to protect women from dangerous and potentially
deadly off-label use of abortion-inducing drugs.

A definition of the terms used in the
bill is necessary for this kind of bill, and is also useful to read. For
example, one important definition is that of the “unborn child: as the
offspring of human beings from conception until birth.” (section 3:9).

Section
5 of the bill clearly lays out what the bill is intended for: “It shall be
unlawful to provide a medical abortion to a woman without her being examined in
person by a physician and as further required by this act.” (section 5:a).

“A person who intentionally, knowingly,
or recklessly violates any provision of this act is guilty of a Class C
felony.” (section 7:a).

Although Class C felonies differ
depending on what part of the country you are in, in Alabama a Class C felony
might include: Criminally negligent homicide, Custody
Interference, Criminal Tampering- 1st degree,
Receiving stolen merchandise- 2nd degree.
According to courtregistry.org, in a Class C felony, the convicted can be fined within a range of $1000 up to $10,000. Not
only that, but according the Code of Alabama title 13A: criminal code 13A-5-6, the
convicted is also subject to no less than one year and no more than ten years
incarceration.

But what is also important to note about this bill is that it goes so
far as to make this provision:

“Nothing
in this act shall be construed as creating or recognizing a right to abortion. It
is not the intention of this act to make lawful an abortion that is currently
unlawful.” (section 9:a-b).

Although it is a long read, and these
points do not cover the whole of the bill, I hope you are left with at least a
better understanding of the bill and its ramifications. Maybe this has sparked
your curiosity and I would encourage you to read and analyze these bills for
yourself and determine what you support and how you might go about supporting
it.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Due to current social and political
discussions revolving around laws about contraceptives and abortion, the
significance of newer pro-life and related legislation has become more
relevant. Certain words such as insurance, healthcare, contraceptives, and
abortion act as trigger words—words that stimulate a heavy debate or trigger an
argumentative discussion on the subject of pro-life versus pro-choice. This
moral issue has become a political one. Many Representatives and Senators today
are taking a stand by promoting specific legislature that endeavors to uphold
constitutional principles and the sanctity of human life.

Recent House and Senate bills
are suggesting small but significant changes in current legislature. Some of these
bills are making simple exceptions to new healthcare laws, some require women
to have an exam by a physician before taking any abortion-inducing drugs, while
all are seeking to prevent taxpayer dollars from going to something many taxpayers
do not morally support.

In an effort to clarify and
explain some of these new bills, I am summarizing two in order to help keep the
public informed. An explanation of the bills and their purpose will help us to
understand their significance in today’s debates.

I
want to first address one of the house bills and its connotations.

HB112

By Representative Henry

February 7, 2012

Synopsis
of Bill: Currently, the new federal health care reform law requires individual
states to operate and maintain "health insurance exchanges." Health
insurance plans offering abortion coverage are allowed to participate in a
state's exchange and to receive federal subsidies unless the Legislature
affirmatively opts out of offering these plans. This bill would specifically
provide that the State of Alabama affirmatively opts out of allowing abortion
coverage by exchange participating health plans. This bill would prohibit
health insurance coverage of elective abortions unless the insured has paid additional
monies for a separate rider.

This bill makes two important points:

“Federal funding of insurance plans
that provide abortions is an unprecedented change in federal abortion funding
policy. The Hyde Amendment, as passed each year in the Labor Health and Human
Services Appropriations bill, and the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program,
FEHBP, prohibit federal funds from subsidizing health insurance plans that
provide abortions. Under this new law, however, exchange participating health
insurance plans that provide abortions can receive federal funds. (section
1:2).

"The provision of federal funding for
health insurance plans that provide abortion coverage is nothing short of
taxpayer funded and government endorsed abortion.” (section 1:3).

An important provision in this bill is
that: “The decision not to fund abortions places no governmental obstacle in
the path of a woman who chooses to terminate her pregnancy.” (section 1:5).

While this provision may seem like a
compromise, it may be necessary to take small steps in order to make big
changes with regard to current laws.

Furthermore, “Citizens of the State of
Alabama, like other Americans, oppose the use of public funds, both federal and
state, to pay for abortions. For example, a January 2010 Quinnipiac poll showed
that 7 in 10 Americans were opposed to provisions in federal health care reform
that use federal funds to pay for abortions and abortion coverage.” (section
1:7).

“No health insurance contract, plan, or
policy delivered or issued for delivery in Alabama shall provide coverage for
abortions except when the life of the mother is endangered by a physical
disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, including a life-endangering
physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself. Insurance
providers may offer abortion coverage through optional rider for which there
must be paid an additional premium.” (section 3:a)

This is one bill among many others
challenging the status quo in terms of abortion laws. If you are interested in
learning more about this bill and others, you can visit this site to find out
more about your legislature: http://www.legislature.state.al.us/index.html

A few other important House Bills are:
HB223, HB493, and HB375. You can search for these at ALISON.

If you agree with or support one or
more of these bills contact your legislator and/or representative and let them know! It is important for them
to realize how many of their constituents agree with certain bills in order for
them to represent you well. It is crucial for us to educate ourselves and to
know what we support to really make a difference and stand up for what we believe
in.